How to Build Your Freelance Blogging Career While Traveling the World

One of the biggest benefits to working as a freelance blogger is flexibility.

You can work when you want and where you want. But how often do you actually take advantage of this location independence?

My guess: not enough. Many freelance bloggers want to travel more — but they don’t know where to start.

How will you communicate with clients? How will you get your writing done? How will you do all the little things it takes to keep your business running, while traveling at the same time?

As a travel blogger and freelance writer, these are problems I have definitely struggled with. And though it’s often been a challenge, I can say without a doubt it’s also been worth it.

If you’d like to start traveling more, here are 12 tips for keeping your freelance blogging business thriving from the road:

1: Inform your clients

Once you’ve decided you’re going to live out your travel dreams, it’s time to let your clients know.

If you’ll have intermittent Internet access, inform them that although you’ll be working, you might be slower to answer emails. If you’re only traveling for a set period of time, work with them to submit the bulk of your assignments before hitting the road.

2: Pre-schedule as much as possible

Whether it’s social media, blog posts or email newsletters, scheduling things ahead of time will remove a lot of pressure. You can use Buffer and Hootsuite to schedule social media updates, WordPress and Mailchimp to schedule blog posts and email newsletters, and Boomerang to schedule emails.

If you plan to travel for an extended period of time, it might be wise to hire a virtual assistant to help you with these tasks. Just be sure you have ample time to train them before taking off.

3: Set up reminders and an autoresponder

Between long travel days and changing time zones, it’s easy to lose track of deadlines. An organized system, therefore, is key to success as a traveling freelance blogger.

Google Calendar automatically switches to the time zone you’re in; record all of your meetings and deadlines there, and then set up reminders so you don’t forget about them. You can also use the tasks feature, which lets you keep track of little things you have to do. Other popular list apps include Todoist, Wunderlist, and Trello — or you can just use a good ol’ fashioned pocket agenda.

Unless you want to be tied to your email the entire time you’re traveling, it’s a good idea to set up an email autoresponder explaining that you’ll be slow to answer non-essential emails. It’s also smart to include links in your message to things you’d like to promote, like your services page or newest product.

4: Back-up and insure your laptop

As a traveling freelance blogger, your laptop is your lifeline. So prepare properly by backing it up and insuring it before you leave. You can use Backblaze or Carbonite to back up your hard drive automatically. Check with your insurance provider to see if they insure electronics; if not, try State Farm’s personal articles policy, which insures your laptop (and camera) in case of loss or theft.

5: Save everything to the cloud

Besides your laptop, cloud computing services will be your best friend while you’re on the road — so if you don’t already use the cloud, it’s time to start. Try Google Drive for writing and sharing your freelance blogging assignments, and Dropbox and WeTransfer for sharing files and photos.

6: Prepare for time offline

Yes, saving things to the cloud is essential — but realistically, there are going to be times when you can’t get online. Make sure you don’t lose valuable hours of productivity by having some offline work ready.

Save notes in a text document so if (or when) you lose internet access, you have guidelines for what you should work on. If an article requires research and you know you’re going to be offline for a decent chunk of time, you can even open up tabs with relevant resources. Or, simply process your emails using Gmail Offline.

7: Pack a pair of good headphones, a journal, and an eye mask

These three items are essential for a traveling freelance blogger. Headphones allow you to work in peace wherever you are, a journal lets you write down your brilliant blog ideas on the go, and an eye mask means you can get the rest you need — even on a red-eye flight or in a bright hotel room.

8: Make finding new “offices” an adventure

Though staying in accommodations with good wifi probably goes without saying, take the time to leave your hotel room and find new places to work. It can be really fun to camp out in new coffee shops and learn about the local scene.

Download Wi-Fi Finder to find wifi wherever you are, or consider investing in Karma if you’re traveling within the United States. If you really need to focus for a day, look for a coworking space that offers day passes.

9: Work a set amount each day

Just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you can’t have a routine. Think about what time of day you work best, and dedicate that time to writing each day. I’m an early bird, so I try to work from 6-10 a.m. each morning; then, I have the rest of the day to explore.

Create your travel schedule around your productive period. Once you know you’ve already done your work (or will be doing so later), you’ll be able to enjoy your time off more fully.

10: Travel slowly

It’s tempting to try to see as much as you can, but that’s a sure way to end up exhausted and overwhelmed. Take advantage of your location independence by traveling slowly, and staying in each location for a week, or month, or more.

Though a great practice is to find a temporary apartment through Airbnb or Craigslist, you may not have the time or patience. If you prefer to move locations every few days, resolve to dedicate every fourth day entirely to working and catching up on your freelance blogging assignments. Trust me: If you want to avoid burnout and panic, it’s essential to literally schedule this into your travel itinerary.

11: Get on the app-wagon

Tons of apps will help you run your business from the road — so use ‘em! Here are some of my favorites:

SignEasy: Sign contracts and other documents without the need to print or scan them

TripIt: Organize all your travel information and itineraries in one spot

12: Do what you can, when you can

This was something that took me a really long time (too long!) to learn. Even if you only have 20 minutes, you can still get something done.

Whatever you do, don’t say: “Oh, I don’t have long enough to accomplish anything meaningful, so I’m just going to watch TV.” Instead, commit to finishing one little thing; you’ll be amazed at how much you can achieve in these short bursts.

Bonus tip: Don’t forget to enjoy it!

This is the last, and perhaps most important, point on the list. You’ve worked hard to create this freelance blogging career for yourself — so now’s the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Don’t spend all day holed up in your hotel room working. Go outside, explore, and have crazy adventures that will inspire your future writing. If you fall a little bit behind, it’s okay; that’s what your catch-up days are for.

Bottom line: Have fun and remind yourself why this location-independent freelance blogging life is worth it!

Do you dream of taking your freelance blogging business on the road? What other tips or questions do you have?

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About Susan Shain

Susan Shain (@Susan_Shain) is a travel blogger and freelance writer who contributes to The Write Life, a website that helps writers make a living from their craft. Sign up for their newsletter to receive actionable writing tips and advice in your inbox each week. (Bonus: You’ll also get a free ebook about how to land your first paying client!)

Comments

Hi Susan, this is a really informative post.
What I would add to the list is using Evernote. Evernote is basically an application for taking notes. It has the ability to work in offline mode, and has a neat browser extension called the Evernote Clipper — which could be used to ‘clip’ your research from the web and access the full article in Evernote’s offline mode.
Thanks for the read!

Great article, Im aiming to become a travel blogger but I havent quite made it yet, still a long way too go, but my writng clients make it easy for me to travel whenever I want. Sometimes, if an article requires research, and I dont have an internet connection, Ill download the webpages and use them offline. Really helps to complete those important articles when internet is hard to come by.

Great article, Susan.
Many of these tips are useful even for those who don’t travel.
I’ll check out the apps and the back up options.
One additional tip – carry common medicines such as painkillers and cough lozenges.

That sounds like a traveling freelance blogger to me, Kitto! I just found a home base in San Diego and have really been enjoying it. *How* you travel isn’t important — just find the right style for you, and have fun!

Thanks for the informative article. I’ve always been curious about how tax and visas work with portable incomes. eg. If I”m working for a client in the US, do I need a working visa for the country I’m in, or should a travel one be fine?

Hi Kim, I’ve never had a working visa for a foreign country (except for when I taught English in South Korea). Just make sure you don’t overstay your tourist visa. Most countries are 90 days, so take a trip out of the country every few months, and you should be fine. Of course, every country is different — so do some research into where you’re staying. I still pay taxes in the United States because I return here often. If you are out of the country for most of the year, there are some workarounds for this — but I’d advise hiring a tax accountant to help you with that!

I haven’t yet done any paying work while abroad, but I have done writing-for-pay from apartments that were rented under technically “residential” leases. Laws about “no business done from this address” aren’t typically written with contained-mostly-in-the-computer businesses in mind, even though full-time employees have been writing books and articles from their homes for additional freelance income since before the days of manual typewriters.

Susan: As a stress- and life-management specialist, I like point #10 the best. Most of the adult U. S. and U. K. populations need a heavy dose of anti-rush treatment!

Number 8 is a big one for me right now. I live in Paris and work from home so finding somewhere to work is always a challenge.

But, I’ve decided to create a little community out of it, so asked a group of expats what they thought about making finding co-working spaces an adventure. So many positive responses! We have our first meet next week.

I also find number 8 hard sometimes. Working from home (or your hotel room) is great, but after a while you feel isolated and want to get out. I tried coffee shops and libraries, which are great, but never found the perfect place. Maybe it’s just better to constantly change place, it usually gives me a boost in creativity.

I put a message on a Facebook group for expats in Paris asking for people who wanted to join me in working from somewhere other than home in the city.

Being a copywriter, I wanted to use words that sell the concept, so it wasn’t just another post (of many on there) that just got ignored. Plus I had to keep it short !

Below is the exact text I used, in case it’s useful for you.

I then sent a message on FB to everyone who said yes, with a date, time and location for us to meet next week. So far, 11 people said yes, and of those that I messaged, 4 said yes to turning up so far. I reckon 1 will in the end and that’s enough for me !

Here’s the text:

*** Co-working***

Working alone can be dull, and we often feel more motivated and productive when we’re in a group.

Who here is interested in spending 1 or 2 days a week working together.

We find a cool place in Paris (be it a cafe, library or co-working space) and work on our respective projects.

I definitely agree that one of the best things about working freelance is the flexibility it gives you. Just the ability to take a day off when you want or make an impromptu journey with no boss to explain to is amazing.

I’m not a huge traveller but this has definitely made me think more about it. Having this much freedom in how you make money is a huge luxury and something most people don’t have so it does seem a waste not to travel more.

Yes, Chris — the freedom is hands-down my favorite thing about freelancing. Whether you use it to travel or not, just knowing you have the permission to spend your time as you please is so empowering. If you’re curious about traveling, though, you should give it a shot! It’s not for everyone, but for some people, it’s everything 🙂

I just spent 2 years travelling in Southeast Asia and plan to travel for the next few years. So far, it’s been just incredible. Your post has some solid advice for anyone considering it.

Only thing I’d add is to get a USB 3G internet adapter and an international pre-paid sim card. It might just save a client relationship one day during an Internet outage if you need to send a document.

While there, why don’t you hop on a plane to the Philippines and explore its northern tip where I’m based. There are great beaches to enjoy here — the ones in Pagudpud are the most famous — they have always been voted among the top 10 beaches in the world!